The Dead Engine Catastrophe
by ox-dancindarlin-xo
Summary: Penny's car breaks down whilst giving Sheldon a ride to work. Raj and Howard come to the rescue, but things are never the same between Penny and Sheldon... What will happen one lonely night when he decides to visit her in her apartment?
1. It All Started With a Big Bang

**Disclaimer: ****All rights and characters belong to Chuck Lorre and CBS. Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline.**

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Knock, knock, knock.

"Leonard?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Leonard?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Leonard?"

Leonard exhaustedly opened the door to his bedroom on which Sheldon had been knocking. He was still wearing his pyjamas and had taken the liberty of wrapping himself in both his robe and a comforter. His glasses were off, so he looked up at Sheldon through blurred eyes. "_What_?" He whined, obviously annoyed by his roommates antics at 9am on a Wednesday morning.

Sheldon wasn't pressed by his tone and smiled in his own Sheldon way. "I was wondering when you were going to drop me off at work."

Leonard just looked at him, wearing the most aghast face anyone had ever seen. "Sheldon, I _can't _drive you to work today – I'm sick!"

"**Sick**?" Sheldon cried, leaping backwards and covering his airways with the front of his shirt. "You can't be sick! I decontaminated the apartment only last week!" Sheldon didn't wait for Leonard's reply, and abruptly dashed to the bathroom, returning with a can of aerosol and spraying it in Leonard's direction.

Leonard sighed, pulling his comforter more securely round his chest, "You didn't decontaminate my office, Sheldon." And at that, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Sheldon standing in the hallway momentarily frozen in a world of his own. Dropping his shirt from his face and letting his arm drop to his side he stopped spraying the aerosol. He just stood still for a moment, staring at Leonard's door as if he was still stood there.

Suddenly he called out, "Well how am I supposed to get to work?"

From inside, Leonard replied, "I don't know! Ask Penny to drive you!" Followed by a large nose-blowing and a hysterical fit of coughing.

Disgusted, Sheldon backed away from the bedroom and out into the living room, looking around dazedly for answers. But unfortunately, even Sheldon knew that his trusty whiteboard couldn't help him now. He pondered about asking Penny to drive him. She had driven him to work before, only for her to order him out the car in the middle of an unfamiliar area. But she would have to be heading to work soon herself, anyway, and he couldn't risk being late or not going at all.

* * *

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

When Penny answered her door to find Sheldon there, he was happy to say that she reacted better to his presence than Leonard had. But in his roommates defence, Sheldon had decided that that was because he was sick.

"Hey, sweetie, what's up?" Penny asked, smiling.

Sheldon had been right in the fact that she would be on her way to work, too, as she was wearing her Cheesecake Factory uniform. Her yellow sweater-vest and green skirt. He classed this as a good start, and he was hoping that she would accept to driving him.

"Good morning, Penny. Leonard is sick, and I need a ride to work."

Penny had slammed the door in his face before he'd even finished.

* * *

"I don't know _how_ you managed to talk me into this." Penny droned to Sheldon in the passenger seat of her car, turning into the Pasadena freeway and sighing deeply.

"Well it was really quite simple, Penny. A good use of persuasion and a good recollection of the rush hour traffic times was all it took to make you reach for your car keys." Sheldon replied, all too pleased with himself, it sounded. Even as he looked out of the passenger window to examine the shrubbery growing on the side of the road, he continued smiling.

"Oh, wowee." Penny droned once more, dripped in sarcasm. "I think it was more something of you falling to your knees and begging me until I gave in."

Sheldon shrugged beside her. "Yes, well, that too."

It was then when they realised that her car was slowly grinding to a halt but her foot was nowhere near the breaks. Sheldon seemed to notice too, as he looked at her questioningly and asked, "Penny, why are we stopping?"

"It's not me, I'm not doing anything!" Penny protested, raising her hands away from the wheel and raising her knees so her feet were off the peddles. Sheldon hastily snatched both Penny's wrists firm and slapped her hands back onto the wheel, his chest heaving.

"Keep your hands on the wheel, woman!"

"Sheldon, we're moving barely twenty miles an hour." She told him, taking her hands exasperatedly from the wheel again and resting them onto her lap.

There was a pause. "What's your point?"

Just then, there was a loud POP and a BANG and Penny watched in horror as a thick white smoke slithered from below the bonnet of her car and swirled up into the air in long tendrils before forming one large puff and fading away with the wind. The car had completely stopped now, and Sheldon was more concerned about the cars speeding past them rather than what had happened to the car they were sat in.

"Penny, I don't know if you've noticed but cars keep overtaking us at dangerous speeds and I'm scared."

Penny closed her eyes to take this all in. Also to drown out the sound of Sheldon's voice nagging in her ear. Her car had broke down? In the middle of the freeway, about ten miles from home, just because Sheldon wanted a ride to work? God, she was gonna kill him.

Opening her eyes, she turned to him to reply through gritted teeth, "Yes, Sheldon. I see that. But _I_ don't know if _you've_ noticed that my car just died!"

As if he was realising for the first time, Sheldon glanced around the car, before exclaiming in a surprised yet somehow sunny tone, "Oh, yes. I see. Well..."

Penny slammed her head onto the wheel, blaring out the car horn for the whole world to hear.

* * *

"Yep, it's definitely dead." Penny concluded, slamming down the bonnet of her car after examining its dead engine. Slapping her hands together to remove oil and dust, she mumbled to herself, "Well, at least it's not smoking anymore."

She got back into the driver's seat beside Sheldon and sighed once more. The only good thing about this situation right now, she decided, as she studied Sheldon's pin-straight form beside her, glancing around at the busy road, was that her Cheesecake Factory uniform hadn't gotten all oily.

"Do you have your cell phone?" Penny finally asked Sheldon, who just looked at her tight-lipped and shook his head. Slumping down into her seat, she fiddled with the catch on the door.

After a moment, Sheldon asked curtly, "Do you?"

She turned to him, a disbelieving expression on her face. "Sheldon, if I had my cell phone do you think I'd just be sitting here doing nothing?"

"I'm not sure." He replied, looking back out towards the still road ahead of them. "I've never been in this type of situation before." He sighed. "I told you about your 'check engine' light months ago, Penny, I conclude this as your fault."

Penny groaned. "Whatever, Sheldon. The 'check engine' light is fine, it's just the stupid engine that's dead."

He waited, and when she just arched a single eyebrow at him, he turned away exhaustedly, "Oh, dear Lord."

Penny sat up straighter in her seat, tapping mindlessly on the wheel. "Yeah, Sheldon, well I'm not exactly looking forward to sitting here with you, either."

"Oh, I have no problem with sitting here with you, Penny. In fact if you close your window just a little more then I would have a perfect cross-breeze."

"Well in that case why don't I just open it all the way?" And at that, her finger was on the button to open her window, and soon the roar of cars breezing past them echoed in the tiny car, and soon Sheldon's eye was twitching. Penny laughed quietly; satisfied with making Sheldon annoyed, and closed the window all the way. At least her hair wouldn't get even more messed up.

"Penny, I hate to point out the obvious, considering you clearly have everything under control, but shouldn't we be out looking for a phone?"

Weighing the pros and cons, Penny sighed and silently opened her door and began walking down the side of the road. When Sheldon didn't follow her, she turned and folded her arms, raising a single eyebrow at him once more.

"Oh, that was a yes?" He realized, undoing his seatbelt and stumbling from the vehicle.

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_**A/N: I know, it's not really anything so far but I'm REALLY into the Penny/Sheldon couple and right now I'm trying to make Sheldon just... well, SHELDON, haha.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed anyway, update soon, I swear.**_

_**Kelly xxx**_


	2. The Soft Kitty Symphony

**Disclaimer: ****All rights and characters belong to Chuck Lorre and CBS. Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline.**

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"_Penny_!" Sheldon whinged, "Can we _please_ go back to the car? We're never going to find a phone out here, plus, my feet hurt and the sound of passing vehicles is making my ears hur– _Dear __**Spock**__, that van's huge_!"

Penny sighed. "Relax, Sheldon, it's on the _other_ side of the road, it won't hurt you."

"I beg to differ!" Sheldon exclaimed, apparently appalled. "If a car were to make an unsuccessful U-turn from that side of the road and hit that aluminium rail at a speed of approximately forty-five miles per hour at a thirty degree angle, it would be sent spinning at exactly sixty miles per hour into oncoming traffic from this direction; therefore the collision and repercussions would be catastrophic. Depending on the time of day and the rush hour traffic then possibly two innocent by-stander's may be hit by carnage, rubble, dismembered or mutilated bodies, or just a huge _van_."

Penny sighed, outdone yet again by Sheldon's oh-too-turned-on knowledge of unimportant things, "Yes, OK, sweetie, you've made your point."

"So we can go back to the car?" He asked brightly, coming to a standstill.

Penny paused, before giving in to her aching feet. "OK, sure, let's go."

"Yippee!"

And she couldn't help but giggle when Sheldon began running off like a little kid in a sweet store.

Suddenly, there was a searing white pain through Penny's left ankle, and a stinging sensation in the sole of her foot. Crying out in pain, Sheldon abruptly came to a halt and turned to see what was going on. Penny was bent over, all her weight shifted onto her right leg so she was just wobbling there one-legged as she felt her stinging foot.

By the time Sheldon had crossed back over to her, Penny had given up trying to balance and had collapsed onto the floor, still seeing to the sole of her foot.

"Damn stinging nettles." She cursed under her breath after that, and Sheldon couldn't help but sniff. Penny chose to ignore him, only making the pain in her now throbbing foot more pronounced.

"Are you alright, Penny?" Sheldon asked, not really sure what to do in this type of situation.

"No," Penny told him, not meeting his unsure eye and just staring at her swollen foot. "I got stung."

"Oh, by what? A bee? A wasp? Is there a nest around here? Oh, good lord, I must get back to the car! My skin and the sting of insects do not mix."

"No, Sheldon," Penny explained, craning her neck back all the way just so she could look at his face, "A _nettle _stung me, OK? A _plant_. Not an insect – a _plant_."

"Oh, yes, I see." He peered down at Penny's foot, which had now turned blotchy, red and irritably itchy. "My, my, that _does_ look like an angry one. We should get you back to the car."

"How can I get back to the car, Sheldon? I can't walk."

She decided that she wouldn't have been as surprised if she'd actually been looking at him when he bent down and scooped her into his arms. With his arm under both of her legs and his other around her back, he was carrying her like a 'damsel in distress'. She didn't know he had that much upper-body strength. Maybe pushing buttons on a controller and tapping keys on a keyboard gave you muscles? Is _that_ the secret gym companies don't want you to know?

As soon as she realised she was no longer firmly on the ground, though, she protested. "Whoa– Sheldon, w-what are you going?"

Sheldon shrugged like it was nothing, wearing the same blank expression he usually wears when basic _human_ situations befall him. "I'm carrying you back to the car. Is this one social convention that you wish not to engage in with me? Because if you like I can put you down and let you hobble back to the car–,"

"No, no, no-no-no-nono... You just keep walkin', Bucko, alright?"

Penny didn't ask where he'd gotten the unsuspected body strength from, but Sheldon seemed to have no problem with carrying her half a mile back to her car and opening the car door with one hand and gently sliding her into the back seat.

She thanked him, and was about to slide over so he could sit down, too, but he told her to lie down.

Penny didn't like the look of what was going on here. Sheldon, who had just carried her half a mile down a road because she'd stung her foot, wanted her to _lie down_ in the _back seat_ of her _car_? This sounded all too junior-high Nebraska for Penny.

"What? Why do you want me to lie down?" She asked unsurely, blinking at him rapidly.

"I want to see to your foot." He told her simply, in a tone that suggested he didn't know she hadn't realised already.

Penny didn't buy it and kept with her Omaha theory. "But I don't have anything in this car that will help with stinging nettles."

Sheldon held up a finger to stop her and waggled it from side to side. "Uh-ah." He said, standing up straight and heading to the driver's side of the car. He took the time to thank that there were no cars going by, but he wasted no time in retrieving the first aid kit he'd hidden under the driver's seat after his first vehicle encounter with Penny.

When he came back, first aid kit in hand, Penny had positioned herself in a sitting position, her back pressed against the passenger door and her stung foot on the other seat infront of her. He was happy with her easier position and was glad she'd thought ahead.

Penny spoke up just as Sheldon carefully climbed in, careful not to jolt her foot and closed the door shut behind him. "Sheldon, I have a question; why did you hide a first aid kit underneath the driver's seat of my car?" Before he could answer, she added, "Also; how long has that been there?"

"It's been there since you first gave me a lift to work. You remember, that time you threw me out because I kept trying to make small talk with you? That's the day I realised you are not a morning person. A couple of days later when you kindly gave me a lift to the comic book store I took the liberty of placing that there, because you have a knack for over going speed limits and overlooking speed signs."

Penny felt a little better that she had something like that on hand to help her painful foot, but she was strangely hurt by the fact that Sheldon thought her driving would result in the need for a first aid kit.

But then again... She guessed she was proving him right.

"Thanks, Sheldon," She droned sarcastically, "That means a lot to me."

Sheldon smiled at her in his own Sheldon way, signalling already that he yet again had not understood her sarcasm. "You're welcome, Penny."

He opened the first aid kit onto his lap and examined its contents. There was a large role of bandage, a box of band-aids, a bottle with disinfectant, cotton buds, cotton swabs, a needle, some thread, super glue and a snake bite kit.

He took out the disinfectant and removed a cotton bud from the pack. Pouring a minimal amount of disinfectant onto the cotton bud, he took Penny's foot up onto his leg and held it there gently with his hand.

"Now, this may sting a little," He warned her, before pressing the disinfectant-clad cotton bud onto the sole of her foot.

Penny hissed between her teeth as the stinging sensation overthrew her, just like Sheldon had warned.

Sheldon stopped dabbing her foot for a moment to take his hand and pat her knee. "There, there," He said, in his best consoling voice. "Sheldon's here." And at that, he continued to dab until Penny could no longer feel the stinging – just the cool cotton on her skin.

Sheldon disposed of the cotton bud by placing it in a small plastic bag labelled 'used' and then popped it into the side pocket of the first aid kit. He then took out the roll of bandage in his most matter-of-factly manner and started gently wrapping it around Penny's foot to avoid any further irritation.

Once he'd finished his dressing and tied the tourniquet securely, he closed the first aid box and placed in beside him, looking back to Penny rather smug about himself as if to say, 'I rest my case' – pun not intended.

"Wow, Sheldon, you're really good at this sort of thing. You know; first aid." Penny told him, admiring his artwork.

Sheldon nodded in agreement. "Well, yes. How could I _not_ be familiar to this sort of 'injury'? I grew up in Texas. I can't remember a day Missy wouldn't run into the house full of grazes, cuts and stings from the cacti and thistles growing around our neighbourhood." Sheldon's tone picked up sharply as if he was happy entailing Penny on the pain his twin sister went through, as she experienced today. But she couldn't blame Sheldon really; his sister did regularly knee him in the groin.

"I remember one time when she came home with many, many cuts and stings all over every part of her legs during the summer after tripping into a bed of cacti." He remembered, barely able to contain a grin from his face, "Oh, mother was so panic-stricken. She rushed around the whole house trying to find something to help Missy. While she was dashing around, of course, I fetched my emergency earthquake kit from my room and tended her wounds. She never said thank you, really. A thank you I didn't accept, anyway. Especially because it included her knee impaling itself into my groin."

Penny automatically reached out for him and rest her hand on his bicep (which, by the way, she decided was becoming much more pronounced). "Aw, sweetie, that was really nice of you. And I'm sorry she didn't show much more appreciation for what you did for her." Her thumb grazed the inside of his arm and he didn't either quiver from her touch or tell her to remove it.

"Yes, well," Sheldon said in a voice quieter from his own. Penny would have sworn Sheldon was being modest for once, after noticing his cheeks flaring up. He looked to his hands which were joined in his lap.

It was at that moment when she realised how _large_ Sheldon's hands actually were. She'd never really paid attention before, but now she was really looking, she decided they were _**large**_.

Removing her hand from his arm, she leant towards him to lower her voice dramatically but seriously, "Maybe you should try a job in the medical career?"

Sheldon puffed out some excess hair in a sharp exhale. "_Please_, Penny," He began, "They're medical operating systems are highly under-maintained and out of the twenty-first century. Not to mention, using the appropriate terminology for this situation, that my science is my baby."

She laughed at his choice of words and his lips curled up into an involuntary smile as she chuckled. It sounded almost foreign to him but at the same time so exotic and wonderful. He didn't want it to end.

There was a pause, in which Penny must have focussed on her foot, because she hissed through her teeth again as the pain came back.

In hope to console her, Sheldon turned to face her a little better and asked softly, "Is it hurting again?" As an answer to which Penny nodded, grimacing. Sheldon paused for dramatic effect before asking in a hushed voice, "Do you want me to sing 'Soft Kitty'?"

Penny paused and pondered for a moment.

Quietly, shrinking into a little ball, she smiled thankfully and said, "Yes, please."

Smiling also, Sheldon and Penny sat up better in the back seats and shuffled closer to each other. Penny was tempted to rest her hand on Sheldon's bicep again, but she was just thankful he was singing to her – she knew Sheldon wasn't one for much physical contact.

He cleared his throat exactly three times before starting.

"_Soft Kitty,  
Warm Kitty,  
Little ball of fur.  
Happy Kitty,  
Sleepy Kitty,  
Purr, purr, purr._"

He looked to his left where Penny was sat and noticed she was smiling. He took this as prompt to start singing again. Soon, Penny was joining in, and after their fourth verse of Soft Kitty, she found herself resting completely onto Sheldon's shoulder with her eyes closed.

Sheldon sat bolt still for a while once the singing stopped, trying to decide what to do in this situation. Should he shrug her off and let her face fall abruptly into the seat? He considered that to be 'not very nice' of him. She was already in enough pain as it was, he decided. And she must have been drained. Not entirely physically but emotionally. Plus, Soft Kitty always leaves you sleepy.

After coming to a decision, instead of pushing her from him, he slowly and carefully snaked his hand round her back and to her arm, and after getting a warm feeling from it, pulled her closer slightly. Penny didn't protest and the little voice inside him that was against all forms of physical contact wasn't screaming for once. He wondered why.

Soon, he felt comfortable enough to rest his cheek on the top of her head and close his eyes. Now with all his other senses heightened, he inhaled deeply and took in the endearing smell of Penny's coconut shampoo.

Not before long, they were both asleep in the back of Penny's car.

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_**A/N: Yes, yes. :) It's so cute, isn't it? ^_^ And it's certainly excelling. What do you guys think? :D And are you impressed with how fast I got this chapter up here? ;)**_

_**Umm... I wouldn't really know much about this because I live in the UK and my Geography teacher doesn't cover this sort of thing, but it has been pointed out to me that cacti don't grow where Sheldon lives in Texas. I will leave it in the story, because I think it is important to the developing storyline, but I just want you to know that I realise my mistake, and thankyou to those people who pointed it out. :)  
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_**Next chapter up soon, promise! Reviewers get to cuddle in the back of a broken down car with Sheldon and sing Soft Kitty with him!**_

_**Kelly xxx**_


	3. The Murder Inquiry

**Disclaimer: ****All rights and characters belong to Chuck Lorre and CBS. Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline.**

**WARNING: Joking suggestions of murder and suicide.**

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"...Do you think he's watching us?"

"Don't be stupid, Howard, he's probably just... sick."

"Leonard would have called us!"

"Well... Leonard's sick, too!"

"_But Leonard called us_!"

"Stop overreacting, dude!"

Raj and Howard sat in the cafeteria of the university in which they worked. They had been wondering all morning where Sheldon had gone, considering Leonard had already called them to tell them he was sick, but he'd mentioned nothing about Sheldon.

"...Maybe Sheldon killed him and that's why he hasn't called." Raj spoke up, meaning Leonard. Howard stared at him wide-eyed as if it was actually a relevant suggestion as to where Sheldon may be.

"I think he would have done it with a carving knife. He's a pretty good cook, always hanging around in the kitchen. Did you know he can break eggs with one hand?"

"Really?" Howard asked, the subject of Leonard's 'murder' seemingly quickly forgotten, "'Cause I've always wanted to learn how to do that. Do you think he'd teach me? Or if I got it wrong first time he'd murder me?"

Raj pouted his lip in thought and Howard hummed over the possibility of that for a moment before finally twigging. "Oh, God, Leonard!"

Scrambling in his orange skinny jeans pocket, he fished out his cell phone and dialled Leonard's number. Once it started ringing, he put it on speakerphone and rest it on the table infront of him, so Raj could listen in too. Both men leaned in anxiously toward the cell as it rang. When Leonard answered with a watery hello, both boys grimaced.

Howard spoke first.

"Hey, buddy." He began, upbeat, but staring at Raj with the same anxious expression, "How are ya? Feeling any better?"

"I'm OK, I suppose." Leonard answered, watery still, and then sneezed loudly. Raj made a disgusted face. "Why are you guys calling me, aren't you at work?"

Howard panicked. He hesitated and stared at Raj.

Raj then whispered so Leonard wouldn't overhear, "_What if Sheldon's listening_?"

"Uhh... Yeah... Yeah we are at work. But you know who isn't at work today and that's Sheldon!" He blurted out, his head now onto the table, and he took a note to hit it _off_ the table once Leonard hung up. Even Raj was staring at him wearing his best 'WTF' face.

On the other line, Leonard asked, confused, "What? He's not there? But Penny gave him a lift this morning."

Howard and Raj bolted upright, staring at each other as if they could read each other's thoughts.

"Oh no." Raj said.

"You don't think..." Howard continued.

"...That Sheldon has..."

"...No."

"Not Penny!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Leonard yelled at them from over the phone.

Howard shook it off, standing up from the table and snatching his phone. Raj followed his lead and stood up, too. "Nothing," Howard told Leonard. "We're just gonna go down to the Cheesecake Factory to check if anyone down there has seen Sheldon. See you." And at that, he hung up.

He looked at Raj and Raj looked at him.

"You know what this is, don't you?" Howard oozed in a hushed voice.

Raj nodded just once. "Yes."

Then, in unison, they both declared, "Judgement Day."

* * *

Once at the Cheesecake Factory, Raj and Howard literally ran to the bar to talk to one – any one – of the waitresses. When Bernadette came over and said hello, Howard just looked around anxiously and tried not to meet her gaze. Raj obviously does not speak to her but whispers in Howard's ear.

"_I_ can't talk to her, you're gonna have to do it, dude!" But when Howard doesn't respond, Raj continues with, "Think of Penny!" And then almost immediately after–

"Hello, Bernadette," Howard greeted formally, "Is Penny here, please?"

Bernadette shook her head. "No, she didn't come in today. We tried calling her apartment but there was no answer and her cell phone was turned off. Why?"

Raj and Howard looked at each other, both wearing the same horrified expression.

"Why?" Bernadette pressed on, confused. "Is something wrong?"

Howard shrugged it off. "No, nothing's wrong, per-say. By any chance did Sheldon drop by?"

"Oh, no, he didn't come in either. Trust me, I would have known." And at that, Bernadette walked off chuckling to herself. Howard and Raj ran back out to Howard's Mom's car. They just sat in the front seats for a while, trying to decide what to do; where to go.

"Well... if Penny was to drop Sheldon off at work she would go the quickest way, right?" Raj started, and Howard nodded in agreement, "Then which way would that be?"

There was a pause whilst both of them pondered about it for a moment, but then in unison, the light bulb popped into life above their heads. "The freeway!"

And then soon enough, Howard turned the key and the car engine roared to life.

* * *

Neither Howard nor Raj minded that they were travelling almost twenty miles over the speed limit on their way up the freeway. They were already satisfied with the account they would tell if a cop was to pull them over. That they were going to investigate whether or not their over-compulsive, over-reactive, over-the-complete-sanity-hill friend had, in an impulse, murdered their lovely, goddess of a friend. Surely they would understand.

Halfway up the freeway, and the whole journey so far had been made in silence until Raj pointed ahead of them and brought Howard's attention to something important.

Why wasn't that car infront of them moving?

As they quickly approached it, Howard's foot twitched over the break pedal but he never took his eyes from the red vehicle infront of them.

"Overtake or stop to check it out?" He almost screamed at Raj, who was also panicking about what to do.

"I don't know, dude!" He shouted back, practically jumping up and down in his seat.

When they were almost at a collision course with the car, Howard had no choice but to slam on the breaks. They avoided the rear of the car easily, but both he and Raj were sure they would suffer severe whiplash.

Uncaring for the cars speeding past, Howard and Raj just sat and mulled it over in the car, neither making a move to get out. Neither had so much as unfastened their seatbelts yet.

Speaking in a hushed voice, Howard turned to Raj. "What do you think?" He asked, unsure. Raj only shrugged, looking almost pitifully vulnerable.

He took a deep breath in to steady himself, before declaring bravely, "After three?"

"OK."

"1... 2..." There was a dramatic pause, "3!" And at that, both Raj and Howard un-clicked their seatbelts and bound from the car, making their way over to the car ahead.

As they drew nearer, they could make out something in the back seat. Maybe it was a large person? Perhaps they'd passed out?

Raj stopped dramatically and reached out to grab Howard's turtleneck as if for safety. He then swiftly nodded towards the car for indication. "What if someone was murdered and the murderer just left them here?" He whispered, his voice growing more high-pitched and panicky as the sentence went on.

Howard shrugged him off and Raj let go, only to reluctantly follow Howard up to the back doors of the car.

As he peered in, he realised that what he thought was a large man was actually two people sat beside one another, both whom he recognised really well.

Both wearing a flawless expression of mangled confusion, the Indian and the Jew stared at each other in perfectly matched bewilderment. Sheldon and Penny? Sat in the back seat of her car? _Sleeping_?

After a long pause, Raj shrugged and replaced his confusion for relief. "At least we know he didn't murder her."

Howard shook his head slowly from side to side. "Oh, I don't know..." He said, quietly again, his teeth clenched, "...What if he killed her and then killed himself?"

Raj's eyes widened dramatically, and his mouth clamped shut. The muscle in his jaw seemed to be in spasm and Howard continued to clench his teeth to the point of grinding. Both boys were thinking the same thing; what to do next?

For what felt like the millionth time today, Howard asked, "What should we do?"

And for what felt like the millionth time also, Raj shrugged.

There was a long pause during which both boys looked in on Sheldon and Penny. There seemed to be absolutely nothing curious about this situation whatsoever, but they decided you could never be too careful with each other. Cuddled up in the backseat of a car sleeping beside one another didn't suggest murder in most cases – but this was _Sheldon _they were talking about, here.

Holding his breath, Howard decided the best thing to do would be to suck it up. He slowly reached out for the door handle and, without protest from Raj, lifted it up gently.

He tugged slightly, but the door refused to open. Again, he tried and once again nothing happened. Growing impatient, he tugged harder until he was using his full force to try and open the car door. Suddenly, the car alarm blasted out wildly and everyone jumped.

From inside the car, Penny began screaming, holding up her fists as a warning, and Sheldon sat bolt-straight yelling absently, "Danger! Danger!" Raj was screaming like a girl, also, and Howard covered his ears with his hands. Penny looked around for the 'intruders', and upon realising it was Howard and Raj, sighed and lowered her fists. She leant over the front seats and reached for her car keys still in the car. Flicking a button, the car alarm stopped wailing.

But Raj didn't stop screaming.

Until Howard hit him, of course.

Penny and Sheldon both climbed from the car, slamming their doors shut and advancing on Howard and Raj. Penny already had her hands on her hips and her brow furrowed. She was finding it much easier to walk now, considering she'd had a nap to keep at bay the pain. No matter how brief that nap may have been.

When she and Sheldon (looking rather nervous) came to a stop beside one another, infront of Howard and Raj, the pair shuffled awkwardly on the spot. Maybe they should have spent less time contemplating what excuse to use for a cop and more to what they would tell Penny and Sheldon if they both weren't dead. Oh, well, a little late now.

Preparing for a full-throttle blow from Penny about what they were doing here, the boys clenched up and stiffened, feeling almost like they were being cornered again in the bathroom in high school.

But instead of shouting at them, Penny just snapped, "What took you so long?"

Opening one of his tightly closed eyes, Howard asked quietly, "...What?"

"_**You**_!" Penny yelled, causing both Howard and Raj to flinch violently, "_**We**_," She motioned to herself and Sheldon, who was still standing awkwardly beside her, "have been out here for _God knows_ how long, trying to find a _Goddamn_ payphone!" While her speech wavered, Raj looked at his feet and Howard tried to look at anything but Penny. "My stupid car broke down as I was dropping Sheldon off for work! _And_, by the way, I was stung by a damn stinging nettle, and I am officially blaming _you_!"

"That's not necessarily fair, Penny," Sheldon chipped in, taking a small step forward and raising his hand as if suggesting it was his turn to talk, "It is not really Howard and Raj's fault that the sole integrity of your shoes was wavered by a plant, but the manufacturers fault. Instead of shouting at Howard and Raj may I suggest drafting a letter of complaint to the company?"

Although he was being deadly serious, Penny decided that she would take it as sarcasm and laughed fakely.

But then storming past Howard and Raj, ordered, "Take me home." As she opened the passenger door of his car to climb angrily inside.

The three boys stared at her in disbelief, but when she mouthed, "_Well_?" they all took heed and climbed in behind her.

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_**A/N: OK! :D I'm so glad I got this up here! Next chapter should be tomorrow, and it's really gonna get interesting. ;) I may rate this story M... *whistles innocently***_

_**Ooh, God, Kelly, spoilers... *giggle***_

_**I also put some Raj/Howard in here! :D They are another favourite coupling of mine, and I kind of feel sorry for Leonard because he's left out, haha. Oh, well, he still featured in the story, right? ;)**_

_**I really hope you're enjoying, and reviews = love!**_

_**Kelly xxx**_


	4. The Dark Matter Hypothesis

**Disclaimer: All rights and characters belong to Chuck Lorre and CBS. Nothing is mine but the creativity and storyline.**

**WARNING: Mature adult physical scene. *hehe***

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Early the next morning, after a good night's rest, Sheldon is pouring over his whiteboard with a cup of warm cocoa. His equations made sense but the overall math somehow didn't add up. It was suggesting that perhaps dark matter didn't exist. But that would be impossible; dark matter had already been proved.

Sipping his cocoa and furrowing his brow frustratedly at his work, his thoughts were interrupted by a light tapping on the door. Not taking his eyes from his board, he called, "Come in."

He still didn't look when Penny peered in through the door, and only turned to face her when he recognised her voice.

"Hey, Sheldon." She greeted warmly, still halfway out in the hallway, only her head appearing sideways in the doorway, "Have you got a sec?"

It was then and only then when he became aware that it was almost 9am and he was still in his pyjamas and robe. Setting down his cocoa and hugging his robe around his chest a little tighter, he turned his back completely on his board and nodded absently in answer to Penny's question. "I suppose. But it doesn't really matter, considering you were planning on coming in anyway, so my answer being either a yes or a no would be completely irrelevant."

Smiling politely, barely understanding, Penny simply said, "Yeah... OK," and stepped completely into Sheldon's living room, closing the door softly behind her. She was wearing only the white tank top she'd slept in that night and some pink 'Hello Kitty' flannel shorts, accompanied by a matching pair of fluffy pink slippers. Her hair was still damp and loose from that morning's shower, and she seemed to glow in the morning light.

It was only then when he realised how well the natural colour of her tanned legs blended with her light-blonde hair, which looked more honey-blonde with it's dampness. And he also took into play how long and slender her legs were, and how the perfect curve of her hips lead up to her slim waist.

He thought these thoughts to be indefinitely strange on his part – he'd never thought of Penny that way before – but had no more time to speculate on them because Penny began speaking.

"Listen, Sheldon, I just came over here to thank you again for what you did for me yesterday." She nodded her head absently, a kind smile playing on her full lips.

Sheldon said nothing, but held her emerald eyes onto his. He was fascinated by how suddenly they were latching onto one another, after at least three years of nothing. They'd certainly spent enough time staring at each other – even if it was most of the time glaring – but why was he feeling different about it _now_? What had changed? To his recollection, nothing in particular. But perhaps Penny thought so, and that was why this was happening.

No matter the reason, it didn't stop him thinking about how flushed her cheeks were, how full her pink perfect lips were, and how amazingly green her eyes were.

"That was really kind of you," Penny went on, drawing him back down to reality. She took a small step forward, and Sheldon mimicked her actions, partially unaware of what he was doing. "And I just wanted to say thank you... Again." Penny breathed a laugh, indicating her anxiousness.

"Umm..." She went on, taking another step forward. Sheldon did not move this time, and stayed routed to his spot, as his eyes did onto hers, "...I'm also sorry I made you miss work yesterday, too. I don't know about _your_ boss but mine was pretty peeved," She breathed one more awkward laugh before half-turning herself back towards the door and concluding quietly, "Well... I, um... I better go."

Sheldon nodded once. "Of course. And I accept your apology, Penny. It wasn't really your fault." He restrained from mentioning the 'check engine' light once again, even though the little voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him to do so. He clenched his jaw and blocked it out, and managed a small smile which Penny returned before exiting the apartment.

As soon as the door closed, Sheldon exhaled so hard it was almost as though he'd just resurfaced for air during swimming. Of course, he'd never actually _been_ swimming and refused to go in the water but that wasn't the point.

The point was: the smell of Penny's shampoo momentarily lingered in his nostrils.

He snatched up his cleaner-cloth and wiped the dark matter hypothesis from the board, wasting no time in scribbling a new one...

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Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Penny?"

Penny would have answered instantly to Sheldon's distinctive knock if it hadn't had been nearly 1am. But she wasn't actually sleeping at the time; she was sat up on her couch watching a movie. She'd just picked it at random from the rental store, and wasn't really paying attention. She was sat daydreaming, pondering about things... about people.

It took her a second to stand up and fumble her way to the door, but when she answered she had to blink a couple times to adjust the light. She looked up and saw little crescents forming in Sheldon's ocean eyes from the moonlight streaming in through Penny's blinds.

Despite her sluggishness to answer it, Sheldon seemed surprised. "Oh," He began, his tone quite awake for 1am, "I hadn't expected you to be quite awake at this hour. I'm sorry to bother you, were you sleeping?" But he didn't need to wait for an answer, because he peered in through the doorway and saw the glare of the television reflect in the dark room.

"No, I couldn't sleep." Penny told him, stifling a yawn as to not back-track on her own statement. She leant against the doorframe and looked up at him, studying his features.

From his long, slender neck to the curve of his jaw line, the smoothness of his nose – not too big, not too small – until meeting his stunning blue eyes and drawing a breath back for them.

"What's up, sweetie?" She managed, her chest retracting from letting out a long sigh. _What had brought all __**this**__ on_?

Sheldon shrugged absently, "Nothing. I just wanted to check you were alright."

Penny was a little confused, but shook her head a little. "Umm... Sweetie, why aren't _you_ sleeping?"

He shrugged once more, as if it would be obvious. "I couldn't sleep, either." He answered simply.

After a pause, he continued, leaning onto the doorframe so he was closer to her face, lowering his voice dramatically, "Uh... Penny?"

The small proximity they were apart from each other was making her anxious, and she was finding it even harder to breathe. Forcing her eyes up so she would not look at his lips, she answered with a, "Yeah, Sheldon?"

But he didn't answer her straight away and follow through with his initiated conversation. But she did notice his eyes flit for a split second to her lips and back up to her eyes again. It was just for a split second, but she saw it. She knew for a fact she hadn't been imagining it. Only question was, why was she feeling weird about it? Almost if she _wanted_ him to look at her lips...

"I have a problem I know only you can solve," Sheldon continued, his cheeks flaring at the slip of the eye. He preyed his voice stayed steady and in the darkness of the hallway Penny didn't notice his flaming cheeks.

Penny shook her head, both answering Sheldon and trying to knock out those strange thoughts from her head, "Oh, no, sweetie, you know I'm no good with all that scientific mumbo-jumbo–,"

"First of all, Penny," Sheldon interjected, wringing his hands out infront of him, looking to the floor and not at her anymore. He wasn't able to bear the intensity of which those green eyes were looking at him with. "Science is not '_mumbo-jumbo_', as you called it, but work of men and women done over generations of years. Because of science we now know most of the mysteries of the world, not to mention how the world became to be in the first place – the big bang."

When Penny didn't answer, he looked back up to her and shook his head a little, "But that's not the point. The point is, this problem I've been having really has been annoying me."

Penny sighed, "OK," She told him, giving in, too tired to argue, "What's your problem?"

Sheldon visibly hesitated. His mouth opened to say something, but he then clasped it shut again. He kept gawking like a goldfish out of water, and Penny stared at him like he'd gone crazy, impatience running over her. When his left eye started to twitch, Penny had to say something.

"Sweetie, it's 1am. Can't you just tell me and get it done with? I'm really tired."

Sheldon sighed and looked to his shoes. It seemed to help, not looking at her face, because he started explaining his problem, "I've been having some difficulty with something I've never encountered before. It isn't new to me, I've seen it lots of times before, but now that it's happening to _me_ I'm not so sure how to go about expressing it. You know better than all others that I have a history of saying things that, not necessarily that I don't mean or aren't the truth but, definitely something not to be said in a social convention. I'm afraid that if I try to explain this I will say something offensive to the one person I would hate to offend."

He was blinking down at her now, waiting patiently for her answer, even though he didn't quite explain himself properly. He seemed almost nervous to, but Penny shook her hair to show she didn't understand.

"Sweetie, I really have no idea what you're talking about. But if you're talking about expressing yourself, have you ever heard the saying 'actions speak louder than words'?"

"Hmm..." Sheldon pondered, looking off into space. As he thought about it, he supposed it would be a valid way to get his point across. He looked back down at Penny, a smile across his face. "Thank you, Penny, I think you solved my problem."

Penny nodded absently, letting her heavy eyelids hood over her eyes, "Happy to help," she told him drearily, slowly backing away to close the door.

But he stopped her, by stepping into her apartment and closing the small space between them. They were now inches apart and before she could ask what he was doing, he cupped her face in both his hands, leant down, and kissed her.

It was just one little peck, short and sweet, but it was still a kiss, as brief as it may have been.

Now, Penny _had_ kissed a lot of guys, she knew she had. But never before had she experienced a kiss quite like Sheldon's. Of course, it was just a peck, so she couldn't draw too much onto it, but it was the way the kiss made her _feel_. It felt right, like it was meant to be. It made that empty hole in the middle of her chest close up like _he_ was filling it. It made her toes curl and the hair on her arms stand on end. It ran a current around her, a current so strong, it couldn't _not_ have been there.

Before she could follow through any further on any of these feelings, he pulled away, bringing his hands back down to his sides.

She gawked up at him, her mouth falling agape. He didn't avoid her gaze like she'd expected him to, but he did squirm on his feet and wring his hands out some more.

He opened his mouth to say something – most likely to apologize – but Penny cut him off when her lips came crashing down onto his.

Without any prompt, she deepened the kiss by wrapping her hands around Sheldon's neck to draw him closer. There chests were now touching and she figured she was standing so close she would be able to feel _that thing_ happening. You know; _that thing_ that happens to a guy when he kisses a girl.

It took a moment, but Sheldon followed through with the kiss, bringing his hands up to her hair and delving his long fingers into her shiny, coconut-smelling curls. He was close enough to her now to enjoy the full integrity of being able to just smell her. Not to mention kiss her, and have her kiss him back the way he wanted her to – the way he _needed_ her to.

When her tongue traced his lips, he took this as a sign to open his mouth a little more as he kissed her. He drew his tongue out, too, and soon they were dancing together. Their tongues, not _them_ as actually people.

He had no idea what he was doing, but he really was trying his best. He was trying in a way he never thought he'd try for a woman, trying merely to please her. To please Penny.

He thought for a moment, and if tonight went the way Penny's body language was indicating it would, he realised he would share a first everything with this woman. He'd already shared with her his first kiss and perhaps he would share his first sexual experience with her, too.

He could tell by the way her hands clawed at his face and ran through his short, dark hair that she was growing impatient. Even by the way little groans kept escaping her throat when their lips parted and they surfaced for air, he knew she wanted him.

_Him_, of all people.

He took a moment to thank God for how lucky he was at this moment (even though he didn't believe in luck and passed it off as hokum, and wasn't actually a squeaky-clean Christian like his mother wanted him to be) and bent Penny backwards momentarily so he could hook his hand round the back of her knee and bring it up around his hips so their pelvis' ground together.

It was an action based entirely on impulse, brought on by his male sexual craving.

When Penny surfaced for air this time, Sheldon brought his head down and kissed tenderly all along her jaw line, going down, down her neck until at her collarbone, and nibbling at the skin just below there. When Penny moaned a little at his nibbling, he decided to experiment some more and lay a single, flat lick on the hollow of her breasts.

The noise that left her mouth then almost took over him, and he lifted Penny's whole body against him so her legs were wrapped round his waist, stumbling straight into her apartment and shutting the door with a swift kick behind him.

He just stood in the middle of her living room, holding her against him, looking around absently. What to do next? Penny's eyes scorched into him, and he was sure if he met her gaze he would die of embarrassment – even though that was physically impossible. Who was he kidding? He didn't know what the hell he was doing. He couldn't _please_ Penny; he couldn't please anyone but himself.

Letting the sorrow of it all overcome him, he must have made a face reflecting it, because Penny took his face gently in her hands and forced him to look at her. He had to oblige, but immediately wished he hadn't.

She was staring at him, just staring. She wore no expression, negative of positive. Not a word left her lips, and she didn't hop down from him. She just let him hold her easily as he stood there, gazing at her. Her eyes were wide, but not wide enough to show shock. It was as if she was communicating through her eyes, trying to tell him everything she'd ever wanted to. Like telepathy for the eyes.

Up until the moment she gingerly wiped her thumb across his cheek and he felt the warm liquid spread across his face, he hadn't realised he was crying. Even if it was just one single tear, it said so many things. It _meant_ so many things.

"Don't worry," She whispered, edging her face down closer to his, "We belong together." And at that, she kissed him.

It was just one little peck, short and sweet, but it was still a kiss, as brief as it may have been.

And as he smiled up at her, slowly walking over to her bedroom, he pushed aside everything he'd ever known. From this moment, there was no more science. If science had a coffin he would make a headstone for it – science was 'dead' to him right now. There weren't any silly little tiffs, no three-strikes-and-you're-out, not any glares or harsh words. There was just the two of them. Penny and Sheldon – there. At this moment in time: together.

And as he gently lay her across her bed, hovering over her and raining tender kisses all over her face, he for once believed something he'd previously believed as hokum.

Because at this moment in time he decided that, _yes_; he and Penny _did_ belong together.

_**~ Fin ~**_

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_**A/N: Sweet, huh? :) Aww, it almost broke my heart to write about him crying. I'd never pictured Sheldon having THAT amount of emotional pressure before, but for this it felt... well, right. Even if I do say so myself.**_

_**Look out for more Sheldon/Penny fan-fics from me. :D I have a feeling this couple is going to stick with me for a long time! Also, Howard/Raj. They're one of my favourite couples, too!**_

_**I hope you enjoyed my story, reviewers get to... well, you read it. ;) Teehee.**_

_**Kelly xxx**_


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